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United States Patent |
5,100,177
|
Becker
|
March 31, 1992
|
Tire spray control device
Abstract
A fender to control water spray and to cool tires and brakes which has a
leading plate with blade-like openings. The fender further comprises a top
plate, a side wall and a trailing plate. The top plate with the leading
plate form an air scoop. The side walls are louvered. The air is directed
to expand adiabatically to both control the spray cast from the rotating
tire and to cool the tires and brakes whether or not there is spray
present.
Inventors:
|
Becker; John H. (8553 Pleasantwood Ave., North Canton, OH 44720)
|
Appl. No.:
|
452192 |
Filed:
|
December 18, 1989 |
Current U.S. Class: |
280/851 |
Intern'l Class: |
B62B 009/16 |
Field of Search: |
280/851
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
3784226 | Jan., 1974 | Wilfert et al. | 280/851.
|
4192522 | Mar., 1980 | Morgan | 280/851.
|
4334694 | Jun., 1982 | Iwanicki | 280/851.
|
4436319 | Mar., 1984 | Clutter | 280/851.
|
4585242 | Apr., 1986 | Sparks | 280/851.
|
4706981 | Nov., 1987 | Dorwart | 280/851.
|
Foreign Patent Documents |
2524344 | Dec., 1976 | DE | 280/851.
|
1526212 | Sep., 1978 | GB | 280/851.
|
Primary Examiner: Olszewski; Robert P.
Assistant Examiner: Culbreth; Eric
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Samuels, Gauthier & Stevens
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 228,379 filed
Aug. 4, 1988, which is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 076,699
filed Jul. 23, 1988, and now U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,941.
Claims
Having described my invention, what I now claim is:
1. A fender system to control the spray cast form a tire which comprises:
a front plate spaced apart from the leading surface of the tire having
blade-like openings therein to control the spray cast from the tire;
a back plate spaced apart from the trailing surface of the tire;
a side wall joined to the front and back plates and lying in a plane
substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the tire, the side
wall covering at least one third of the tire, the side wall containing
louvered openings;
a top plate joined to the front and back plates;
an air scoop formed in the upper portion of the front plate and the leading
portion of the top plate, the scoop including a baffle spaced apart form
and defining with the leading portion of the top late, a flow path of
diminishing cross section from its inlet to its outlet, the flow passage
causing the air flowing therethrough to discharge diabatically in a
rearward direction to control the spray and to cool the tire and brake
associated with the tire and the louvered openings directing the air
toward the rotating tire to cool the tire and brake associated with the
tire.
2. The fender of claim 1 wherein the inlet of the flow passage extends
substantially across the width of the front plate and top plate.
3. The fender of claim 1 wherein the flow passage is substantially
rectangular.
4. The fender of claim 1 wherein the baffle is an extension of the front
plate which extends under the top cover.
5. The fender of claim 4 wherein the leading portion of the top plate
includes depending edges engaged to the front plate to define a slot-like
opening for the air scoop.
6. The fender of claim 1 wherein the blade-like openings are substantially
horizontal.
7. The fender of claim 6 wherein the blade-like openings are substantially
parallel to one another.
8. The fender of claim 1 wherein the blade-like openings are substantially
vertical.
9. The fender of claim 1 wherein the louvered openings lie in a plane
substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the tire.
10. The fender of claim 1 wherein the louvers extend outwardly from the
side wall, the leading edges extending in a direction toward the front
plate.
11. The fender of claim 1 wherein the tire when rotating creates a zone of
turbulence about its surface and within the space defined by the front,
back and top plates and the side wall and further comprising a rearward
air scoop having a baffle spaced apart from the back plate and defining a
flow passage therewith, the flow passage having its inlet in the zone of
turbulence and its outlet beyond the zone of turbulence whereby spray and
particulates controlled by the fender and striking the back plate are
discharged downwardly and outside of the zone of turbulence.
12. The fender of claims 1 or 11 wherein
the top plate includes at least one compression cover therein, the
compression cover defining with the top plate a flow passage whereby the
air flowing therethrough is compressed and then adiabatically discharged
substantially rearwardly onto the rotating tire.
13. The fender of claim 12 wherein the compression cover extends upwardly
from the top wall and includes depending sides which are joined to the top
plate.
14. The fender of claim 13 wherein the flow passage is substantially
rectangular in cross-section and diminishes in size from its inlet to its
outlet.
15. The fender of claim 11 wherein an exit baffle is spaced apart form the
under surface of the back plate and the back plate includes walls which
are joined to the baffle.
16. The fender of claim 11 wherein the flow passage is substantially
rectangular in cross-section.
Description
BACKGROUND AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The nation's highways provide a means whereby millions of trucks/trailer
transport and the like are freight carriers and move in a majority of
cargo and commodities from one point to the other. My prior invention
embodied in the above-referenced co-pending application and patent were
directed to a fender installed around or over the wheels of these
transports to prevent the generation and dispersement of finely divided
water streams or snow mist cast from the rotating tires. Broadly, that
invention included a leading plate having blade-like openings therein in
combination with a back plate and/or a side plate, the side plate having
openings therein; the openings of the front and side plates were adapted
to direct the flow of water inwardly and downwardly with reference to the
longitudinal axis of the travelling vehicle. In addition to overcoming the
problem of throwing spray from the tires of the vehicle, which impaired
the vision of passing or trailing motorists, the directed air streams
aided in cooling the brakes of the vehicle and in reducing the drag acting
on the vehicle created by the vacuum on the underside of the carriage.
The prior art is believed best exemplified by the references cited in my
parent application and patent.
The present invention embodies aspects of my prior invention and includes
further modifications, which significantly enhance the performance of the
fender.
Broadly, this invention comprises a fender having a leading plate
characterized by blade-like openings, which may be horizontal, vertical
and/or both, an upper entrance air scoop, a top plate, a side wall having
a plurality of louvers attached or formed therein to form compression
chambers and a trailing plate, the trailing plate characterized by an exit
air scoop. The front and rear air scoops, in addition to controlling and
directing the flow of spray created by the tires, reduce the drag caused
by the fender itself.
In an alternative embodiment where the housing is used for multi-axle
vehicles, the top plate may be characterized by compression plates forming
zones of adiabatically expanding compressed air to further cool the tires
and brakes.
In still another alternative embodiment, the leading plate is modified to
have blade-like openings alone or in combination with openings formed in
the front fender and bumper(s) of the vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of a fender housing embodying the invention;
FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a rear view of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 4 is a side view of an exit air scoop;
FIG. 5 is an alternative embodiment of the invention illustrating a fender
for multi-axle vehicles;
FIG. 6 is a top view of a top wall with compression plates; and
FIG. 7 is a side view of FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
Referring to FIG. 1, a fender shown at 10 comprises a leading plate 12
having blade-like openings 14, 16 and 18 defined by blades 20, 22 and 24
respectively. FIG. 2 shows vertical blades 25. Formed in the upper portion
of the plate 12 is a front air scoop 26 which comprises a top wall 28 and
a front wall 30 joined to the front fender 12. The juncture of the top
wall 28 and the front wall 30 define an opening 32 through which air
flows. The leading plate 12 includes an inwardly extending plate 34 which
functions in combination with the top wall 28 to form a diminishing
cross-sectional flow path 36.
Joined to the leading plate is a top plate 40 and a side wall 42. The side
wall includes louvers 44, 46 and 48 formed therein. The air flows through
slit-like openings 45, 47 and 49 where the air is compressed and then
discharged adiabatically onto the tire surfaces and into the brake-drum
areas. The louvers function in combination with the blade-like openings in
the front in a manner such as described in my prior application which is
hereby incorporated by reference in this disclosure in its entirety.
Joined to the side wall 42 and the top plate 40 is a trailing plate shown
generally at 50. The trailing plate 50 is characterized by a deflecting
baffle 52, the depending end of which is spaced outwardly from a plate 50
and defines an opening 56 across the width of the back plate as shown in
FIG. 3.
The fender is secured to a vehicle in any suitable manner. When secured,
the leading plate is spaced apart from the leading edge of the tire, the
top plate 40 covers the upper portion of the tire, the trailing plate 50
covers the trailing edge of the tire and the side 42 covers at least the
upper third of the tire.
The inwardly extending plate 34 and the top wall 28 define the flow path 36
of diminishing dimension such that air flowing through the scoop is
compressed. When the air is discharged, it adiabatically expands resulting
in a cooling effect. The direction of discharge is such that the
adiabatically expanded cooled air is directed onto and between the
rotating tires to assist in cooling of the tires and the brakes of the
tires. Further, the discharged air additionally controls the rooster tail
or spray caused by the rotating tire and minimizes the drag affect caused
by the housing per se.
The trailing plate 50 with the exit air scoop 52 has been found to be more
advantageous than the use of the blades per se in combination with a
trailing plate 50 as described in my prior invention. However, blades 58
and 60 are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and may be used optionally as desired.
The baffle 52 and plate 50, in combination with the opening 56, are
structured to deposit the cast spray downwardly on the ground and to
prevent the spray collected by the back plate 52 from reentering the zone
wherein the spray is created by the rotating tire. Previously, some of the
spray controlled by the trailing plate was cast back on to the tire
creating unnecessary turbulence and drag. The exit air scoop directs the
controlled and collected spray downwardly and outside of the fender 54.
Further, it is directed beyond the zone of turbulence created by the
rotating tire.
Referring to FIG. 5, an extended fender of the invention is shown at 60
enclosing multi-axle tires 62 and 64. The fender includes a leading plate
66, a trailing plate 74 and a side 80. The leading plate 66 includes
horizontal blade-like openings 68 as described for FIGS. 1 and 2 and
vertical blades 70. The side plate 80 has narrow slit openings 72a, 72b
and 72c and 74a, 74b and 74c. They are covered with louver plates 76a, 76b
and 76c and 78a, 78b and 78c respectively are received over the openings.
The louvers function as described for the preferred embodiment. The fender
60 has an entrance air scoop 86. The trailing plate 74 of the fender 60
includes a rear exit scoop 88. The blade-like openings 68, louvers 76a,
76b and 76c and 78a, entrance air scoop 86, rear exit scoop 88 and louvers
76 and 78 function substantially as described for the preferred
embodiment. A top plate 90 is characterized by a plurality of compression
plates shown generally at 92.
Referring to FIG. 6, a top view of the top plate 90 shows compression
plates 92. FIG. 7 is a side view of FIG. 6 and shows the compression
plates 92 defining with the plate 90 flow passages 94. As with the
entrance air scoop, the air is compressed on the upstream side of the flow
passages 94 and then adiabatically expanded on the downstream side.
The various embodiments have been described with reference to the entrance
air scoop, the exit air scoop, openings in the leading plate and louvered
openings. The various openings do not necessarily have to be horizontal
and/or vertical. They may be at various angles with reference to the
horizontal and they do not necessarily have to be uniformly spaced apart
from one another, be in parallel relationship with one another or be
uniform in size. Depending upon the flow characteristics desired for the
air passing therethrough, the size and orientation of the openings either
singly or in combination can vary. Similarly, with the slit-like openings
defined by the louvers to create the adiabatic expansion of the air, they
do not have to be spaced apart equally or uniformly and they do not have
to be in parallel relationship with one another. That is, they may be at
various orientations. In fact, it can be desirable that the openings
defined by the entrance air scoop, the louvers and compression plates be
of different sizes to create desired flow patterns and degree of cooling
of the adiabatically expanding air.
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